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PaperclipPerfector  11mo ago (text post)   2345 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for June 9, 2023

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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What’s your favorite bird?

I’ve been watching the local Great Blue Herons. Majestic, yet goofy. Love ‘em.

I still want to go somewhere I can spot a Green Heron. Basically all the same advantages, but they tuck in their neck and look like a completely different bird. This amuses me.

Cardinals! That bright red is so striking. Plus they choose the next pope so I want to be on their good side.

I like Mourning Doves because their call reminds me of home. They're clumsy dum-dums.

The trees in my parents' neighborhood have finally matured enough for barred (not barn) owls to move in, and now I hear them every time I visit. One night about a year ago I woke up to find one sitting on a branch outside the window, maybe 8 feet away from me. Its size was awe-inspiring.

Japanese crows. They're huge and really clever. There are crow fanzines and crow pet owner societies in Japan. Sometimes they even have live crow pop-up cafes.

I'm liking blue jays because they chase the grackles away from my feeders so all the other birds will show up.

Blue jays are radiant, territorial dickheads. They're characters. I like 'em.

Man, I wish our resident blue jays would chase the grackles away, but the latter are completely ungovernable.

Actually, scratch that. It's not the grackles I mind half so much as the starlings.

I like the birds of prey that perpetually circle over the valley I live in. No idea what kinds they are - Buzzards? Kites? But they're always nice to watch, even though they act like strangers when you stumble across one sitting around somewhere.

Apollo - https://youtube.com/watch?v=tonI_hzrgrA&t=34s (talking parrot)

I like my local pileated woodpecker. Comes to the feeder and yells.

Recently, I saw a few waxwings. Never seen them before in person, so that was cool.

Bird I know we have locally, but I don't see as much of as I'd like: plover types (killdeer, etc).

Bird we don't have locally that I'd like to see: woodcock.

A good, thorough answer!

I happened to see a pileated or maybe downy woodpecker in the only nearby conifers. Very neat.

Waxwings are also excellent. I can only second your desire to see the stilt-type birds, which I find incredibly charming.

You might have seen a Hairy Woodpecker. They're about halfway between Downys and Pileateds in size, but look exactly like Downys in all other aspects.

Woodpeckers in general are just nice. We've also got some red-bellieds, and a Northern Flicker or two, which I believe are adjacent to woodpeckers, but ours just seem to enjoy throwing mulch halfway across the yard as a daily activity.

We used to see lots of hairy woodpeckers in my area, but the council cut down the woods, so now we just see lots of hairy peckers.

Lately it's been the robin because it's sociable and likes to join in with the gardening.

Absolutely, the second I lift a bunch of dirst, at least one robin comes to check for bugs and worms. They're so bold compared to birds five times their size, they'll fly past my head and hop closer and closer, especially if I don't make sudden movements.

You can go to a corniche that has seagulls around and throw pieces of bread and they will all flock and grab it mid-air. Sometimes take it off your hands. A lot more exciting than feeding ducks or pigeons which don't seem to have the reflexes or inclination to grab food mid air.

I always consider it a sight when I get to see a bird of prey because they are rare where I live.

Great horned owls ever since reading a collection of inspirational stories about a pair of Great Horned Owls that faced down a cougar.

When I was a child, I considered seeing a Red-Tailed Hawk a great stroke of luck. "This is going to be a good day, I saw a hawk." Or, if I made a decision and then saw a hawk, I figured it was the right decision. It was a little superstition I had, small but meaningful.

Successful environmental policies, including the elimination of DDT and habitat preservation, and the nature of development in my area have successfully brought the local raptor population back, so now I see multiple hawks virtually every day. I wonder what that means all the time, before when they were rare it was meaningful, now it's sorta humdrum. On the other hand, my life is also going exceedingly well, so maybe it's just constant good luck.

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